1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a gas liquid centrifugal separator, namely, a device for subjecting a liquid to be treated or a mixture comprising a liquid and a gas contained in the liquid to a gas-liquid separating treatment to separate the gas and the liquid from each other.
2. Description of the Related Art
In a conventional gas liquid centrifugal separator, a gas and a liquid are separated from each other by centrifugal force in a cylindrical vessel having a substantially horizontal axis, where a gas and liquid mixture is caused to circumferentially travel along an inner peripheral surface of the cylindrical vessel; the gas is discharged to the outside from a discharge port in an upper portion of an outer peripheral surface of the vessel; and the liquid is discharged to the outside from a discharge port in a lower portion of the outer peripheral surface of the vessel (see U.S. Pat. No. 5,427,685).
However, the conventional gas liquid centrifugal separator has the following disadvantages: a groove for guiding the mixture and a passage for guiding the gas separated from the liquid are provided in the cylindrical vessel, so that the internal structure of the cylindrical vessel is complicated; and if the cylindrical vessel is placed in a horizontal direction, the area occupied by the separator is increased.
Accordingly, it is an object of the present invention to provide a gas liquid centrifugal separator of the above-described type, wherein the internal structure of the cylindrical vessel is simplified, and the area occupied by the separator is decreased.
To achieve the above object, according to the present invention, there is provided a gas liquid centrifugal separator for subjecting a mixture comprising a liquid and a gas contained in the liquid to a gas-liquid separating treatment to separate the gas and the liquid from each other, comprising a cylindrical vessel having an axis extending in a vertical direction, an exhaust port provided in a top wall of said cylindrical vessel for discharging the separated gas, a drainage port provided in a bottom wall of said cylindrical vessel for discharging the separated liquid, and an introducing port provided in a peripheral wall of said cylindrical vessel for introducing said mixture into said cylindrical vessel in order to conduct the gas-liquid separation treatment utilizing an inverted conical liquid surface formed by causing said mixture to circumferentially travel along an inner peripheral surface of said cylindrical vessel.
When the mixture is caused to circumferentially travel along the inner peripheral surface of the cylindrical vessel as described above, the mixture is separated into the gas and the liquid by centrifugal force. The separated gas from the inverted conical liquid surface is collected in a space inside the inverted conical liquid surface without containing the liquid, and discharged from the exhaust port to the outside of the cylindrical vessel. On the other hand, the liquid gradually descends by its own weight, and is discharged from the drainage port to the outside of the cylindrical vessel.
It is unnecessary to provide a groove for guiding the mixture and a passage for guiding the separated gas in the cylindrical vessel, and hence the internal structure of the cylindrical vessel can be simplified. In addition, the cylindrical vessel is placed in a horizontal direction, and hence the area occupied by the separator can be decreased.
The above and other objects, features and advantages of the invention will become apparent from the following description of the preferred embodiment taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings.